And before I can answer, she walks out of the bakery.
Ashton glances over. “What was that about?”
I shrug in confusion.
When I glance back toward the counter.
The pen’s gone.
I frown, check around quickly, then shake my head. Probably rolled somewhere.
Ashton watches me for a moment, then says, “I like him…Nathan.”
I look at her. “You don’t even know him.”
“I know enough,” she says. “He didn’t have to come down here just to talk to you. He could’ve just… let it be awkward. That tells me he’s not careless.
“I don’t think he came down here just to talk to me.”
“He didn’t order anything, did he?” she says, tapping her nose.
I don’t argue with that.
“Don’t overthink it. Just text him. Go to dinner. Let it be a thing.”
Chapter 14
Nathan
I don’t mean to think about it, but I keep replaying the kiss.
The way it caught me off guard. The way it wasn’t careful or thought out. It just… happened.
One second, I was apologizing, the next, my mouth was on hers. Soft at first. Then not.
I remember the heat of it. The way she didn’t pull back. The way her fingers curled into my shirt like she needed something solid to hold on to. I’d needed it too.
That’s the part that unsettles me. Not that it happened, but that I wanted it.
My pulse kicks up just thinking about it.
Because there’s something about this girl…the way she makes me feel
My phone rings.
I glance at the screen before answering. “Yeah?”
“Detective Barnett,” he says. No small talk. “Nathan, I wanted to update you on the man from the lineup.”
My body tightens automatically. “What about him?”
“We’re moving in on him,” Barnett says. “We’re close to securing a warrant. We don’t have every piece yet, but we’re not backing off. If there’s anything there, we’ll find it.”
There’s something in his voice I haven’t heard before. Certainty.
“We’ll get the warrant,” he adds. “Whether he likes it or not.”
I let out a slow breath. “Okay.”
